Next time you head to Costco , make sure you have your plastic or digital membership card – and a matching ID. The members-only warehouse retailer is really starting to crack down on non-members.
Costco confirmed in January it had begun testing the scanning of membership cards at the entrance of some locations, as a way to improve member experience in that cards wouldn’t need to be scanned at checkout.
This full-on deployment of scanners across all locations is also meant to stem the flow of non-members using cards that do not belong to them.
“Over the coming months, membership scanning devices will be used at the entrance door of your local warehouse,” read a recent update on the Costco website to members. “Once deployed, prior to entering, all members must scan their physical or digital membership card by placing the barcode or QR Code against the scanner.”
Any guests must come with a member who has a membership card with them, the note continued. Customers with inactive memberships will be asked to “stop by the membership counter prior to entering the warehouse to shop.”